Skating is the Key
After playing hockey for almost 40 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that skating is the key element to being a successful player. You can still be an above average player if you’re a below average skater, but being an exceptional skater will give you a decided advantage over ‘good’ skaters. You can be the best body checker in the world, but you can’t hit what you can’t catch.
I’ve played ice hockey and ball hockey with and against pros and top junior players and have been amazed at their speed, agility, and balance on the ice. However, once they take their skates off many of them are just average ball hockey players as everybody’s on equal footing. In fact, some of them are down right mediocre.
I didn’t lace up my first pair of skates until immigrating to Canada as a 10 year old and remember my lack of success the first time out. I figured I needed a third skate for my backside as I spent most of my time on it. I didn’t become discouraged though, as I kept hearing that I probably just had weak ankles. But a few weeks later I remember watching legendary hockey analyst Howie Meeker sweating and getting all worked up on national TV as he was telling the audience there’s no such thing as weak ankles, just poor fitting skates.
Suddenly it all made sense to me, perhaps my skates were too big. I didn’t really know how skates were supposed to fit, but it did seem a little odd that my skates were twice as long as my feet. After taking on a couple of extra paper routes I was able to save up enough nickels and dimes for a smaller used pair from the local sports store.
Now, you’ve got to remember this was the era when skates weighed a ton as they had solid steel blades and the boots were as stiff as a Briton’s upper lip. However, the right sized skates made the world of difference the next time I went skating. I actually made it around the rink a couple of times without kissing the ice with my butt.
As the years went by my skating improved as I also learned about keeping the skate blades sharp and how the radius of the blades (how much of the steel actually meets the ice) affected my skating. Of course, technology also changed over the years and skates were suddenly built a lot lighter, fancier, and stronger. However, while the skates seemed to be something from the space age, the basics stayed the same. This meant you still had to wear the proper sized skates because no matter what other magical tricks the skates could do, they couldn’t make you a better skater if they were too big or too small.
The key to buying the right sized skates is to go in with a blank mind. By this, I mean don’t go to the store looking for a certain size skate. You should throw all of the sizing numbers out of the window and go by fit only. It doesn’t matter if your old skates were size nine, your shoe size is seven, and your new skates are size 10. If they fit, they fit.
When it comes to trying on skates you’re the boss. Don’t let the salesperson or your parents try to tell you how the skates fit. You’re the only one who knows. Make sure they are wide enough, long enough, and supportive enough. You don’t want your heels moving around in the skates while you’re skating.
Make sure you’re wearing the same type of socks you’ll be playing in when you’re trying on skates, and walk around the store in blades. Once you’ve found a good fitting pair of skates, break them in properly and experiment with the skate blade radius and sharpening techniques until you find the right combination for your style of skating and playing. It also wouldn’t hurt to take a few figure and/or power skating lessons either to get the jump on your opponents.
About the Author: Ian Palmer is a big hockey fan who likes to keep up with his favorite team in the NHL. When he is not watching his team out on the ice or playing the game he writes for prohockeystuff.com – an informative online magazine with information about pro hockey stuff, hockey sticks and protective hockey gear.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 94 views | Mar 22 2007
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